PRESS RELEASE
AUGUST 16, 2021
BALA CYNWYD, PA – The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) announced that Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BI) is the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Training Program Award. With this award, ABCT recognizes the impact of Beck Institute’s work in the training and dissemination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to organizations and providers in the United States and abroad. The award will be presented at ABCT’s 2021 convention, taking place November 18-21 in New Orleans.
“Although there is extensive research demonstrating CBT’s effectiveness in treating a wide range of disorders, the challenge of making treatment accessible to those who need it has always informed the work of Beck Institute, which my father, Dr. Aaron T. Beck and I founded in 1994,” said Dr. Judith Beck, Beck Institute’s current President and co-founder. “We had a goal of vastly expanding access to CBT training worldwide, firmly rooted in the belief that better trained therapists achieve better outcomes for their clients. We are so pleased that ABCT has recognized our work.”
Beck Institute offers a full range of CBT training opportunities for professionals, students, and paraprofessionals across disciplines, settings, experience, and skill levels. Over the past 27 years, BI has developed and delivered live in-person trainings in Philadelphia and other major cities, individual and group supervision and consultation programs, and customized trainings for organizations focused on specific issues and populations. In addition to workshops, Beck Institute offers an array of online training opportunities, ranging from one-hour webinars to comprehensive on-demand courses. These courses have now been taken by thousands of clinicians in 128 countries. Many of the practitioners who have taken these courses would never have had access to training in CBT otherwise.
“Beck Institute has done more than any other program to train leaders in the field who themselves have trained thousands of providers around the world,” said Steven Hollon, PhD, who spearheaded one of the largest and most well-known research studies comparing CBT to anti-depressant medication, and offered a letter in support of Beck Institute’s nomination. In addition to its training programs, Beck Institute also conducts and disseminates CBT research, funds training opportunities for graduate students, and serves as a professional hub for a community of academics, researchers and practitioners worldwide.
All of Beck Institute’s programs operate in service of its nonprofit mission. In 2020, BI provided over $65,000 in scholarships to students, clinicians, and organizations. Of particular note is the BI Military and Veteran Suicide Prevention Training Fund, which provides scholarships for mental health professionals who treat America’s active duty and veteran military personnel. BI also offers a range of free educational content on its social media channels and website, including blogs and webinars for medical and mental health professionals and the lay public. Over the course of its 27-year history, Beck Institute has grown to become a world leader in training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.